ST. VALENTINE GAMES.
A Valentine Hunt.
This should be given early in the evening, as it removes shyness and establishes good fellowship.
Hide as many small valentines as there are children, and give five minutes to hunt for them. Those finding more than one should put the extra ones on a table, and the children not finding any are then blindfolded and allowed to draw one each.
Rose Guess.
Present a large rose and let each child guess how many petals it contains. When all have guessed, pick the petals off, counting them as they fall. The nearest guesser receives a prize. An appropriate prize would be a bonbon box filled with candied rose leaves.
Rose Bowl Game.
Put on a small table, a mat of pink crinkled tissue paper, and in the centre stand a cut-glass rose-bowl. The bowl should be covered with huge pink rose petals, made of paper, inverted as though the rose were held in the bowl, the petals all meeting in the green calyx, which covers the opening of the bowl. Through the calyx, narrow green ribbons representing rose stems should appear. Each child, at a signal, should come to the table and draw one of the “stems.” On the end of each will be found a pink candy heart, and to one of these hearts will be fastened a tiny love-knot ring.
The Walnut’s Fortune.
Open a quantity of walnuts in half. Into each walnut slip a narrow piece of paper which will predict the future. Slip a small elastic over each nut, which will prevent them from reopening. The boys’ walnuts should be put in one basket, and the girls’ in another. The girls’ basket should be offered first. As each girl holds her hand over the basket she should repeat:
“Steady, good fairy, I am wary,
Pray let my hand make no mistake;
I would only the right nut take.”
Then she puts her hand down, lifts up a nut, removes the elastic, and taking out the paper, reads her future aloud. Example, “You will travel around the world. At the age of twenty-three you will sing before two thousand people.” And thus the future is predicted in similar style for other players.
Naming the Roses.
All the young people should personate favorite roses. Therefore, there should be many varieties. The parlors should have arches or wide doorways, through which a procession may readily move.
The musicians are advised to play something between a march and a reel, and immediately each boy signals out the girl that matches his rose. If more than one match, he asks the girl he prefers. Then, all keeping time to the music, they walk through the first arch or doorway, and so on to the second, thus in rotation going through all. The couples should keep about two feet back of each other.
When all have passed through the last arch, they join hands, thus forming a circle, and commencing with the first couple, enter the ring two by two. Two only being in at a time, when they come out, the two that followed them in the march enter, and so on. When in the circle the boy should ask the girl, “Which rose are you?” She answers, “Tell me, and I’ll tell you.” Very often his answer will be, “I don’t know,” though once in a while he will make a perfect guess. When his answer is right, he asks the girl the language of her rose; but if he has made a mistake, he is obliged to leave the girl in the ring, and stand under one of the arches. If the girl cannot answer his question, she must stand under an arch. If the boy leaves the ring before inquiring the rose’s language, those forming the ring put the same question, and if the girl does not properly reply, she has to pay the same penalty as when not replying to the boy.
When both questions are answered correctly, the boy and girl again join the hands of the others forming the circle. When each couple has been in and left the ring the game is concluded.
Among the rosebuds and their meaning are: White rose-bud, girlhood; red rose-bud, loveliness; white and red together, unity.
Memory.
Put a small table behind a screen. On this table place thirty different articles, including pulverized spices, small bottles of liquid, books, etc. Each player is allowed ten seconds in which to familiarize himself or herself with the things on the table. Then each person writes a list of the things, titles of books, etc., from memory. The boy and girl whose lists are nearest perfection receive valentines as prizes.
Love Box.
Present a pink silk bag to each of the young ladies, and ask them to take out what they first touch. Each will then draw a small pink box, inside of which will be her fortune written on ordinary sized note paper.
When the young ladies have finished drawing, pass a red silk bag, filled with red boxes of a similar size, to the young men. Each paper in the pink boxes should be numbered one, two, etc. and the same with the red. The following are the examples of the fortunes.
Whereso’er I am, below or else above you,
Whereso’er you are, my heart shall truly love you.
My name is John.
You will married be
At the age of thirty-eight,
Or else I’ve made a mistake,
And the date is far too late.
Now you must guess my name
Or this fortune’s very tame.
Or ask questions, to be followed with appropriate answers.
“Shall I marry Sue?”
“There’s a rival in the case. A very rich and stupid fellow.”
The Prophetic Rose.
In an archway hang a huge rose made of tissue-paper of a deep red color, the petals being dark at the centre. The players are told that the darker petals belong to the boys, and the girls should visit the rose first. Each girl in turn should step toward the rose, and break off a petal. On the reverse side she may read her fortune; for delicately pasted to the rose petal will be a white one, and on this the girls fortune will be written. Everybody reads their fortune aloud, for all are as interested to learn the future of their friends as their own. When the girls finish, the boys follow in a similar way. Some of the fortunes might be:
“Thou drawest a perfect lot.”
“You will be wondrous happy.”
“Mistress of the Manse.”
“A curate—never slack in duty.”
Make a Valentine.
This will create much merriment and prove equally suitable for grown-ups or boys and girls.
Before the guests arrive, have ready even-sized pieces of water-color paper. The hostess should distribute these and explain just what should be done. Have water-color paints, brushes, etc., conveniently near every one, also a few well-sharpened lead-pencils might not prove amiss. Either have the people seated at one long table or at several small ones, as would be convenient. Ring a bell when it is time to commence. In thirty minutes ring again, when all must stop.
As the designs should be original, no one must look over his neighbor’s shoulder. The fact that some would not know how to paint would have nothing to do with it, as the entertainment is only a bit of fun and every one should do his part. Valentines allow of such diversity in decoration, from the extreme of the grotesque to the æsthetic and beautiful, that every one should be glad to try. Remember, a line of prose or verse would be an added compliment. For instance,
Prithee tell me, Dimple chin,
At what age does love begin?
might be written under the dainty portrait of some winsome wee thing; or,
My love is like a red, red rose,
might be added to the picture of a flaming red cabbage rose.
When the valentines are finished they should be numbered, each painter retaining his number on a slip of paper. This done, gather the valentines and submit them to the judgment of three people to decide as to their merit. The painter of the best valentine should receive a prize.
Then jumble together slips of paper on which are written numbers corresponding to the numbers of the valentines. Let each guest draw a slip, and present him or her with the corresponding valentine, which may be retained as a souvenir.
The Court of the King of Hearts.
Decide who will be king. He may get his costume from a costumer’s or wear a home-made robe of gold color, decorated all over with hearts cut out of crimson velvet, six inches long and in correct proportion. He should wear a gold crown ornamented with Rhine stones, and carry a sceptre. There should be a throne, which may be a large chair placed on a raised platform. The throne and platform should be covered with gold paper, sprinkled with diamond dust.
All the decorations should suggest St. Valentine’s evening. Therefore, pink or rose should be the color effect, and such devices as Cupid’s arrows, hearts, valentines should appear. Ask the young ladies to gown themselves to represent roses. Therefore some would wear pink; others, white, etc. The gowns might further suggest the scheme by being trimmed with roses. The young gentlemen should wear rose boutonnières.
All the guests compose the court.
The entertainment may be opened by the minuet, danced by red and white roses, after which the entire court enter, marching two by two. As they march they sing in honor of their king. When the first couple reaches the throne, the leaders separate right and left and turn facing each other. The others do likewise, keeping the distance between regular. Last of all comes the king followed by two pages representing Cupids. The king marches between the columns, and finally reaches his throne. When there he looks smilingly over his court, and then seats himself. The pages stand to his right and left.
Then the court, at a motion of the king’s sceptre, waltz, after which the entire evening is spent amusing the king. He likes songs, and they become Singing Roses. He likes recitations, and the roses recite. All the songs and recitations must be of the heart. Among the recitations may be “The Garden of Love,” William Shakspeare; “The Day-Dream,” Alfred Tennyson; “Telepathy,” James Russell Lowell.
At the close of a song the king rises, and waving his wand, the company cease entertaining, and the Cupids, leaving the throne, walk side by side, and finally stop at a huge blackboard. Then in colored crayons they each draw a valentine. After which the King of Hearts asks each one of the company to do likewise. This affords much amusement, as many of the valentines will be exceedingly grotesque.
When all have finished drawing, the Cupids return to the throne, and the king signals for a dance. And now a surprise. Eight dancers appear in heart and valentine dominoes. Each heart dances with a valentine, and thus the king continues to be amused. The first eight who have drawn valentines quietly absent themselves, and thus they are ready at the desired time. The dominoes are made out of white cheese-cloth, the valentines and hearts are basted thickly over them.
After the dance the king should rise and thank the court for what has been done for his entertainment, after which the recession of the court should follow. The columns leading to the throne must be again formed, the king rises, and proceeds through the lines followed by his pages, and then the two nearest to the throne go next, and so on until all disappear.